Direct Property News

Asking prices in the year to July 2018 increased strongly in some parts of the UK, most notably in the North and West of England, the Midlands and Wales, the latest index shows. The biggest annual growth in asking prices was in Wales at 6.4%, taking the average to £202,378, followed by a rise of 5.4% in the West Midlands to £247,925, a rise of 5.3% in Yorkshire and the Humber to £196,907 and a rise of 5.1% in the North West to £202,248. There was also strong annual growth of 4.7% in the East Midlands to an average of £233,291 but elsewhere asking prices fell or was muted, the data from the Home.co.uk index shows.…

As yet another Housing Minister takes up the brief, research shows that the majority of house builders and developers believe that the Government is likely to miss building targets. Some 86% think that the maximum achievable is 250,000 a year, well below the Government target of 300,000 a year by 2022, according to the annual house building report from real estate firm Knight Frank. Just 1% of respondents, which include more than 100 developers that account for almost three quarters of all newly built homes across the country each year, think surpassing 300,000 additional homes each year is possible by 2022. It highlights the task ahead for new Housing Minister Kit Malthouse, the 17th politian to…

Rents in London rose by 0.10% in the 12 months to June 2018, the first annual rental increase for the capital in 18 months, according to the latest Landbay data. London rents have fallen on a year-on-year basis every month since December 2016, however rental growth in the capital finally returned to positive territory in June. The average rent paid for a property in London now stands at £1,884, still 2.5 times the rest of the UK (£764) despite the tough London market in recent years pushing rents down. Elsewhere in the UK, rental growth continues to slow. This has been a similar picture throughout H1 of 2018, with UK rents rising by just 0.40% in…

Prime country house prices in the UK increased by 0.9% in the first half of 2018 but it has been a mixed picture for this sector of the property market with notable regional variations, the latest index shows. On an annual basis, prime country house prices have seen an increase of just 0.7% but looking longer term prices are some 10% higher than five year ago, according to the data from Knight Frank’s prime country house index. But a higher level of annual price growth was recorded in the prime markets of the Midlands and the North, both up 3% year on year and a handful of urban markets have outperformed, with Harrogate, Bristol and Cheltenham…

Average property prices in England and Wales fell by 0.3% in April and by 0.2% quarter on quarter to £285,082, according to the latest residential index to be published. Sales were also down, falling by 12.6% quarter on quarter and by 15.4% month on month, the data from the LCPAca index shows. But in the new build sector prices increased quarter on quarter by 0.2% to £341,409, although in this sector sales are down substantially with a quarterly fall of 18% and representing 9.9% of the market, down from a 14.4% high in June 2016. In the Greater London area prices remained largely unchanged, up 0.2% in April and reversing a fall in March, and up…

Saving for a typical deposit for a first home takes a year less than it did in 2017, but first time buyers still face a decade of saving to get a 15% down payment, new research has found. In the first quarter of 2018 the average single first time buyer would have to save for 10 and a half years to raise a 15% deposit on their first home, down on the 11 years recorded in the same quarter of 2017. The year difference reflects slower house price growth and a rise in incomes, according to the study from Hamptons International and it means that the average single first time buyer who started saving in the…

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